How to Eat a Cupcake: A Novel

By Meg Donohue

“An irresistible blend of sweet and tart, this book is truly a treat to be savored.”
—Beth Kendrick, author of The Bake Off and Second Time Around

“A sparkling, witty story about an unlikely, yet redemptive, friendship….Grab one of these for your best friend and read it together—preferably with a plate of Meyer Lemon cupcakes nearby.”
—Katie Crouch, bestselling author of Girls in Trucks and Men and Dogs

Author Meg Donohue has cooked up an absolutely scrumptious debut novel, How to Eat a Cupcake, that explores what happens when two childhood friends, Annie and Julia, reconnect as adults and decide to open a cupcakery. But success in their new baking business venture will depend upon their overcoming old betrayals, first loves, and an unexpected and quite dangerous threat. Donohue’s How to Eat a Cupcake is contemporary women’s fiction at its smartest, sweetest, and most satisfying, joining the ranks of The Recipe Club, The School for Essential Ingredients, and Joanne Harris’s classic Chocolat by proving once again that fiction and food make an unbeatable combination.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Mar 13, 2012
• ISBN: 9780062069290

Meg Donohue

Meg Donohue is the USA Today bestselling author of How to Eat a Cupcake, All the Summer Girls, and Dog Crazy. She has an MFA in creative writing from Columbia University and a BA in comparative literature from Dartmouth College. Born and raised in Philadelphia, she now lives in San Francisco with her husband, three children, and dog.

Reviews for How to Eat a Cupcake

[tabbyisnotacat · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I definitely liked this book and I'd give it 3.5 stars easily. There were some cute moments, some good friendly banter, and some emotional areas. Julia's secret was something I wasn't expecting, but I'm glad I was wrong. One of the main things I didn't care for was the side story with Jake.

Overall, good book! And it made me really hungry for cupcakes each time I opened it up!

[bookczuk · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Quick read that was one of those dollar deals on nook. Pretty sure there were no surprises. I do have a cupcake eating technique, but only when alone. Public cupcake eating is pretty straightforward.

[anniemichelle · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I finished How to Eat a Cupcake late last night propped up in bed and drooling on my pillow! A delightfully delicious sweet story of rekindled friendship with a little romance & mystery stirred in...:) This is the story of Annie & Julia. Best friends from very different worlds who grow up together. They grow apart through childhood hurts and losses, go their separate ways & at a turning point in both their lives end up coming together again. Through the love of cupcakes and family they manage to build a thriving "Cupcakery", find love and the friendship they thought was lost along the way. I do have one complaint...You need to include some of those mouth watering cupcake recipes!!!

[genieinanovel-389828 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

How to Eat a Cupcake is a light read that I'd recommend for anyone who likes stories about estranged friends coming back together for a cause.  Of course, in this case, the cause is a cupcakery, which is honestly the part that really drew me in.

Though the story is slow to get to it, the element that kept me wanting to read was Julia's secret that prompted her to suddenly quit her job in New York and return home to San Francisco.  I was wrong with my guess of what her secret was, which felt weird because I'm normally better at predicting these things.  It did give me a better perspective on why Julia was acting the way she was in the beginning of the novel and when it was revealed it was definitely a turn for the better of her mending friendship with Annie.

Annie was a character I liked for the most part.  She was guarded due to the hurt she experienced in high school and from losing her mother at only 18 years old.  I could relate in the way that I'd be lost without my mom if anything happened to her, even though she's not my only family (I'm just very close to her).  It was more her playful sarcasm that won me over, especially when it was aimed toward Julia, because it showed that she was learning to forgive Julia's actions as a teenager and give their friendship another shot.

The mystery behind who is trying to sabotage the cupcakery was another plot point that is worth reading for, though the answer is a little weird in my opinion.  I think I would have preferred the author to go a different way with it, but it is what it is.

Overall, I liked this book for the most part, and I think others will too, as long as you don't expect too much from it.

[betsykipnis · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Set in SanFrancisco's Pacific Heights and The Mission this book reads more like a photo spread in a non-existent magazine somewhere between Nylon and Elle. It's a glossy examination of the have and have nots, emergent women directing their lives toward next steps, the tensions in complex relationships and somewhere in there is a central conflict. What was successful is how Donohue hints at interesting flavor profiles and how a cupcakery is born. What is unsuccessful is how long it takes for central conflicts to develop. This book lacks dynamism in the plot structure. If I did do this one with a reading group, I might have them tear up the plot events and rearrange them into a new structure to see if the narrative is more fulfilling by the last page. The story wrap up is mildly annoying unless you are about to get married and want to tralala along. One character's perfect life wraps up as if its fresh from Tiffany and the other sort of shuffles off in a patchwork carpet bag. Everyone is just too perfect in this book--they eat never-ending cupcakes and NEVER gain weight. If you are looking for happy endings you will get one. If you are looking for a book to read by the pool and possibly lose it, this will do. If you are looking for a wholehearted experience, try something else.

[writerbeverly · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not what I expected, but I was more than pleasantly surprised.

Ten years after high school, once best friends and pseudo-sisters reconnect. Annie is still smarting over the way Julia betrayed her as a teen, as well as the loss of her mother around the same time. Julia needs to FEEL something again, after a traumatic incident of her own, and what better way than to launch Annie into business as a way of making up for past misdeeds?

There are men, including one who got in the way in the past, and does so again, temporarily again, though this time both women are older and wiser and not as easily fooled, but this books isn't really a romance. It's not light and fluffy as a cupcake (though the vivid descriptions made me incredibly hungry). There's a bit of mystery, even danger at the end, but it's not really about that, either.

It's told alternately from Annie and Julia's points of view, and at first, I had a hard time liking either of them; Annie felt too brash and in your face, Julia too tightly controlled and deliberately oblivious. They grew on me, and in the end I was rooting for them to let each other in, as friend and confidant and business partner, and for their cupcakery, Treat, to succeed.

[arthistorychick · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

How to Eat a Cupcake by Meg DonohueSource: PurchaseRating: 4/5 starsWhen Annie Quintana was a senior in high school her mother Lucia died. In a cruel twist of fate, that same year Annie’s best friend, Julia St. Clair turned on her, got her kicked out of her fancy prep school and nearly cost Annie her a chance to go to college. Ten years later Annie has built a good life for herself and has no desire to revisit her painful past. She is a master baker who has channeled her mother in the interceding years through her cooking. Though she never found her mother’s original cookbook, Annie has been able to cobble together what she remembers of her mother’s recipes to create the most scrumptious cupcakes. But as we all know, fate often has plans for us that we don’t anticipate or desire.Here’s what I liked:*Annie: she is just a delightful character who (like me!) has a tendency to resort to sarcasm and humor when she is nervous. I like that Annie, in a roundabout way, makes the decision (kind of) to confront her past and her ex-best friend, Julia St. Clair. Annie is never going to live the life she has earned without exorcising the demons that still haunt her. *Julia: I really didn’t want to like Julia but as the plot begins to unfold liking her is pretty much inevitable. She may be rich, beautiful and successful but Julia has demons of her own that she is trying desperately to ignore. Reconnecting with Annie not only helps the two women heal their shared past wounds but also allows Julia to deal with her current demons and move on to the life she deserves.*The Mystery: Saying too much here would be spoilery and tacky so I will just say this: you kind of don’t see this element coming at the beginning of the read and that is what makes it so intriguing. *The Cupcakes and the Cupcakery: The recipes and descriptions of how the cupcakes look, smell, and taste is one of the highlights of this read for me. The descriptions and the cupcakes are so rich and vivid that you can all but taste what Annie is baking. Thank God you can’t gain weight from imagining yourself eating a cupcake By the same taken, the cupcakery that Annie and Julia create together is magnificent. Again, the descriptions are spot on and are so well-worded that I could absolutely envision what Treat looks like. Plus, it’s a place that smells like and sells nothing but goodness, how can this not be on the “What I Liked” list? The Bottom Line: I can’t honestly say I jumped for joy over the awesomeness of this read but I did truly enjoy it. It is a solid and well-written novel with endearing characters, a tiny bit of mystery, a tiny bit of romance, and a whole lot of feel-good moments. Also, it is a stand-alone so you won’t have to worry about what came before and/or what comes next; everything is tied up neatly at the end. Enjoy!

[bookdivasreads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Is it possible for two grown women, from differing socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, to put teenage hurts aside and become friends once again? This appears to be the underlying question in How To Eat A Cupcake by Meg Donohue. Although Annie Quintana and Julia St. Clair were close friends as children, their high school years were fraught with teenage mischief and abuse that led to a severed friendship. As adults, Annie and Julia are still at opposite ends of the socioeconomic spectrum, but Annie is comfortable in her new life. Julia has left behind her New York success to return to California and prepare for her wedding. Julia is looking forward to her marriage but feels that her life is somewhat lacking without a job to keep her time occupied. Fortunately Julia's mother has kept up with Annie's success as a pastry chef and hired her to provide pastries for an upcoming party. Annie and Julia's forced reunion doesn't end in tears or chaos. It does end, surprisingly, with Julia taking an interest in Annie's talents that eventually ends with them becoming business partners in a cupcakery. While they work together on their business plans, it quickly becomes apparent that they have unfinished childhood business. It is only after they confront each other with their residual anger and hurt that they are able to move forward and develop a growing respect for one another's skills and forge ahead with their business plans. Annie has specific ideas about where the cupcakery should be situated and they are hopeful that Annie's baking talents will bring in the wanted business. Before their business even gets off the ground they are faced with vandalism to their new cupcakery. Growing a business, planning a wedding and searching for Annie's mother's lost recipe book, all add drama and tension to a newly minted partnership and growing friendship.Ms. Donohue has provided an intriguing tale into friendship between two women that are as different from one another as night and day. Annie has been able to make a success of her life despite the betrayal she suffered in high school at the hands of her closest friend, Julia. This was quickly followed by the death of her mother, the only family she really had. Julia experienced teen jealousy that resulted in the destruction of a friendship. She went on to become a successful businesswoman without giving much thought to the destruction she left behind. Both Annie and Julia have regrets and fears to overcome, but they do so tentatively as they work toward a new relationship built on trust in one another's business skills and knowledge. How To Eat a Cupcake isn't fraught with angst and turmoil, but it is filled with drama and a sense of wonder as two women find their way to becoming friends once again.

[annie.michelle · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I finished How to Eat a Cupcake late last night propped up in bed and drooling on my pillow! A delightfully delicious sweet story of rekindled friendship with a little romance & mystery stirred in...:) This is the story of Annie & Julia. Best friends from very different worlds who grow up together. They grow apart through childhood hurts and losses, go their separate ways & at a turning point in both their lives end up coming together again. Through the love of cupcakes and family they manage to build a thriving "Cupcakery", find love and the friendship they thought was lost along the way. I do have one complaint...You need to include some of those mouth watering cupcake recipes!!!

[yukon92 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A somewhat predictable ending, but a very good read!

[suetu_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I gained weight with every pageI live in San Francisco, where this novel is so evocatively set. After the coldest, dreariest, rainiest week ever, I felt I deserved a treat. I pulled How to Eat a Cupcake off the shelf.At the novel’s heart, are two very different women with a shared past. Annie Quintana grew up in the carriage house of the St. Clair’s Pacific Heights mansion. Her mother, Lucia, was the nanny to Julia St. Clair, and the two girls were raised practically as sisters. They were the closest of friends until a rift in their teen years. The last time they’d seen each other was at Lucia’s funeral, a decade prior.As the novel opens, Annie and Julia live very different lives. Annie is a baker who has finally accepted a catering job from Julia’s mother, Lolly. What she doesn’t know is that her erstwhile friend has left New York’s high finance whirl and has moved home for the month’s leading up to her wedding. They have an awkward (and engineered) reunion at Lolly’s party.And that would have been that, perhaps, but Julia needs something to do with herself that doesn’t involve wedding planning and nurturing the secret she’s keeping from her fiancé and the world. In the midst of a sugar high, she proposes to Annie that they collaborate on opening a cupcake shop. Despite her distrust of Julia, Annie can’t pass up the opportunity to make her dreams come true. And so an uneasy alliance is born.As the two women work together towards a common goal, they work to heal their fractured relationship. There are many allusions to past wrongs before the full story is eventually teased out, and there are an equal number of ominous foreshadowings, because not everyone seems to want these two to succeed. Beyond that there are subplots about men, parents, business, and many, many references to delicious cupcakes! I will warn you now, the cravings became unbearable. Kara’s Cupcakes, That Takes the Cake, American Cupcake, I hit them all! Let this serve as a warning to all dieters.The fact that debut novelist Meg Donohue’s prose was tempting enough to send me to multiple bakeries speaks volumes. In many ways, How to Eat a Cupcake is fairly typical women’s fiction. There really weren’t too many big surprises along the way, but that’s not why I was reading it. Sometimes some semi-formulaic entertainment is exactly what you’re looking for. For me, in the midst of some god-awful dreary weather, it was exactly the literary comfort food I needed.

[shelleyraec · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

How To Eat a Cupcake is a story of friendship, family and forgiveness. Annie Quintana and Julia St.Clair were once as close as sisters, raised in the St Clair home by Annie's mother, the family's nanny. But it has been a decade since Annie has stepped foot in the family home, devastated by the Julia's teenage betrayal and Lucia's sudden death. The reunion between the women is marred by bitterness and resentment but nevertheless Julia offers Annie the chance to open her own cupcakery and Annie can't resist the opportunity. Working together isn't easy but the pair discover their differences are an asset in the new business and begin to develop a new appreciation for each other.Told through alternate chapters from Annie and Julia's perspective the story of How To Eat A Cupcake reveals the history of the girls and the issues they are facing in the present. I like the structure because Annie and Julia each interpret and approach things differently, and we are able to understand both sides of the relationship.Initially I sympathised with Annie on the assumption that she and her mother were treated badly by the St Clair family but it becomes evident that in fact Annie was given many of the same advantages as Julia and Julia's parents, were very generous employers. While I can sympathise with Annie's distress at her mother's sudden passing and the situation that arose due to Julia's careless remarks, Annie's attitude towards Julia's parents seems just plainly ungrateful. Neither does it say much about her character that despite so strongly disliking Julia, Annie was willing to take advantage of her wealth out of a twisted sense of entitlement. I actually ended up liking Julia slightly more than Annie, whose bitterness is rarely relieved.The author deliberately predisposes us to dislike Julie who is rich, smart and effortlessly stylish, with a privileged, blinkered attitude that marks her as spoilt and entitled. As the story progresses, Donahue humanises Julia though, her behaviour is shown to be rarely deliberate but simply unthinking. She does possess the arrogance of wealth but Julia is willing to apologise, to make amends and persists, even though Annie rather churlishly continues to throw it back in her face.Both Annie and Julia also have their own issues, Annie wants to find her mothers missing journal/recipe book and is embarking on an ill advised relationship with an old school friend while Julia is hiding a secret from her fiance. There is also romance, of sorts, for both the girls.While the complicated relationship between the girls is a feature of the novel, there is also the mystery of the continued vandalism at 'Treat', the cupcake store they own together. The identity of the faceless man hanging around the shop is easily guessed but the identity of the vandal, and his motives, turned out to be quite a surprise.Despite not being enamored with How To Eat A Cupcake, it is a quick and pleasant read, and if nothing else I was left craving a delicious cupcake.

[reviewsfromtheheart · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Annie Quintana and Julia St. Clair as a different as night is to day. Separated by ten years, the two find themselves brought together once again. Julia St. Clair is ambitious, sophisticated and is very wealthy. The only daughter of the St. Clair family, she is in the planning process of her wedding to Wesley, a Southern businessman but is hiding a secret she must tell him before she marries. Julia finds herself with time on her hands now that she has quit her job to move back home to San Francisco to begin planning her wedding with her mother, Lolly.Annie Quintana has been used to taking the back seat in life, especially when it comes to Julia or the St. Clair family. Annie's mother Lucia was the housekeeper for the St. Clair's and also became a close personal friend to Lolly during the time she worked there. Annie grew up with Julia since they lived in a small apartment on the St. Clair estate and was provided for by the St. Clair family. Attending the same schools as Julia since they were both only children. It made sense for them to be friends. Lucia died in the kitchen after having a brain aneurism and after attending the funeral and dealing with issues in high school, the girls grew apart.Now that Annie has been asked by Lolly St. Clair to cater her party by bringing her delicious cupcakes, Annie and Julia are reunited. By this reunion isn't a warm one. The reader gets a sense that something more has happened between the two girls and as they begin to make plans to go into the cupcake business together, the reader is taken on a journey between alternate points of view between Julia and Annie.As they come to terms with how they can work together in running this business, the reader gets a sense that all is not what it seems to be. Annie is warm and hard working, trying to find a way to make her cupcake business a success while still working through some unresolved issues with Julia that happened in high school. Julia on the other hand remains distant from wedding plans, avoids confrontation with Annie over what issues she has with her, and seeks solace in sharing drinks with her ex boyfriend Jake Logan.I received How To Eat A Cupcake by Meg Donahue compliments of Harper Collins Publishers for my honest review. The beginning of the book starts off pretty slow for me trying to figure out where these two fit into each other's lives but about 1/3 of the way through the story picks up. I related to Annie the most, having been raised in Julia's shadow most of her life, she seeks resolution with Julia before she can move forward but Julia is constantly changing the subject or passes it off without realizing the impact it had on Annie's childhood. Julia is a bit self absorbed and likes to be the center of attention, seeking to remain at the top of whatever event is going on at the time. I really liked this book because it portrays a unique connection between the two women who come from different walks of life but are drawn together in a compelling way. I rate this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend this one for a great summer read. The only thing missing were some recipes for these delicious cupcakes that are invented along the way!

[dgmlrhodes · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved the story in this novel about the sophisticated Julia St Clair and the spunky Annie Quintana. While as different as possible, the girls grew up together basically as sisters although Annies mother was a servant in the St Clair's home. After a falling out just prior to her mothers death, the girls are reunited at a charity event put on by Mrs St Clair where she has asked Julia to bake cupcakes. Ultimately, the girls go into business together and learn to get over their differences. The book is about friendship and forgiveness and shows strong female leads. The guys in the story are minor characters without any depth. However, the women characters are fully developed and fun to get to know. Worth the read and an enjoyable story. Reader received a complimentary copy from Good Reads First Reads.

[momofzandc2003 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

As much as I really wanted to, I just couldn't finish this book. I picked it up several times since receiving it and just couldn't get into the storyline.

[sharonr53 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

How to Eat a Cupcake is a book that seems like it would be a fluff piece. It is not! This is the story of Annie and Julia who both grew up in the wealthy St. Clair family home. The difference between them was that Annie was the daughter of the nanny/cook and Julia was a St. Clair. The book begins several years after Annie’s mother has died while at work in the kitchen and Annie is coming back for a party, bringing cupcakes she has made at the bakery where she works. She and Julia are no longer friends due to an unknown betrayal by Julia when they were both at an exclusive prep school. Julia is engaged and has left her job to come back home to her parent’s house. She has also had a traumatic incident that is only hinted at and it seems to be sucking all of the joy out of her wedding planning. After seeing Annie at the house she contacts her onetime friend and proposes a business partnership- a cupcakery. After an initial refusal, Annie agrees and they begin to work together. It would be so easy for the story to develop into a happy coming together at this point but Ms. Donahue remains true to her characters and makes them work long and hard to even come to being able to be civil to each other. Both women have regrets about things they have done to each other and to other people that they need to work out. Add to the mix a mysterious vandal who seems to be bent on destroying the business and the plot gets even darker. This book was a great read. The two main characters have a lifetime of shared experiences good and bad for the author to put out there. The members of their families and their significant others also bring out aspects to their characters that provide interest to the reader. There is a surprising twist at the end that works perfectly and brings about a resolution to issues that affect both women and their loved ones. I believe that this is Ms. Donahue’s first book and I look forward to reading further books by this talented author.( Received egalley from Netgalley.com)

[readingwithmartinis · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I am guilty of somewhat judging a book by its cover. When I saw the cover of this book, I was smitten. It is so adorable, with all the fancy cupcakes in the shop window. I just loved it. Lucky for me, it turned out to be a pretty good read, too.I loved the plot. Old friends who had a traumatic split in their relationship are drawn back together and create a cupcakery. I especially loved the name of the cupcakery - Treat. I loved how the very long shared past of Anna and Julia wove together and heavily influenced their present in so many ways. I thought this was a definite high point for the book.For the characters, I was very taken with Anna. I found her to be likeable, fresh, she was a tiny bit edgy in her own way. I simply loved her. I had problems with Julia, Julia's fiancee, and Lolly, Julia's mother. Part of my problem with Julia was that I just did not like her. I found that I was not able to embrace her as a character. She felt distant and removed. I think some of this was by the author's design. Julia is a somewhat stand-offish person. However, I needed to be able to connect with her and I just could not. Each chapter alternated in narrative voice. Some chapter were narrated by Anna and some by Julia. I found myself grimacing when I would hit the Julia chapters because I did dislike her so.My other problem with Julia overlaps with my problems with Lolly and Julia's fiancee (his name is escaping me). My problem with these three characters was that I found them to be riddled with cliches. Julia is very much the stereotypical spoiled rich girl. She never really broke that mold for me and that was disappointing. Likewise, Lolly was the overbearing rich mother who often means well but just fails miserably. And then there was the fiancee. While I liked him to a certain extend, I was bother by the same sense of him being a giant cliche. The fiancee is from the South and speaks with a southern drawl. That's fine. I love a good drawl. What I did not enjoy was that his speech was full of every single southern cliched expression. His overall character was forced into the "Southern Gentleman" role and nothing distinguished him as unique.Despite these few problems, I did enjoy the book. It is a solid debut by Donohue. I will definitely check out future books by her.

[gincam · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Meg Donohue's debut work, "How to Eat a Cupcake", is as well-prepared and appealing as the various exquisite cupcake creations described throughout the book! Food is such an integral part of our lives, not just for sustenance, but also for comfort and celebration. Food is also a universal communicator. Many times in our lives we express emotions that we cannot verbalize through cooking and sharing food. Annie Quintara is a baker of captivating cupcakes--blissful bites bursting with familiar flavors and unexpected, unique enhancements. Annie's mother, Lucia, was for many years the cook for the wealthy St. Clair family, whose daughter Julia was Annie's childhood friend. As the camaraderie of children gave way to class consciousness and competitiveness, the friendship lost its luster. Julia, the entitled, supremely blonde and beautiful rich girl is jealous of Annie in more ways than she can comprehend. Annie, always a bright and funny free spirit, is comfortable with her Ecuadorian heritage and exotic looks. A nasty rumor, started by Julia and later proven false, almost costs Annie her scholastic opportunities. A decade later, an unplanned reunion brings the former friends back together and sets in motion events which will forever change their lives. I was so drawn in to this story line, and I was quite involved with the characters, even though some of them were at times quite unlikeable. Even though I didn't always like the characters, I very much enjoyed reading their story. Annie is a sweetheart, and you root for her from beginning to end. Julia is much harder to accept, but after you get over the urge to slap her pretty face, then you also want her to find a happy ending. I have always known that the relationships formed in youth will affect us throughout all of our life. We may think that we can leave them behind, but they are woven into our souls with a fine and flexible thread. Meg Donohue is a worthy storyteller to follow, and I am eager to see what she will do with her second book. Review Copy Gratis Amazon Vine

[carolee888 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed reading 'How to Eat a Cupcake' by Meg Donohue. In fact after I finished the book, I looked for more books by her but couldn't find any. So, if this is her first book, I think she has done very well. What attracted me to this book was the cover with a wonderful array of cupcakes in a cupcakery. After my mouth watered for a while, I started to read the story of two women of the same age who grew in the same house but weren't related to each other. Anna Quintana was the daughter of the cook and housekeeper for the St. Clairs. She didn't know who her father was and her mother didn't tell her about her past. Anna had a bubbly personality, curly hair, was very creative with cupcakes. Since her mother died early and after an argument that they had had, Anna felt cheated out of a chance to reconcile with her mother. Anna was determined to be independent and vowed never to return to the house where she grew up. Julia, the Sinclair's daughter was serious, a successful business woman, engaged to be married, ambitious and she hid her depression from everyone. Although she grew up with all the advantages, she was somewhat jealous of Anna for a wonderfully loving mother. Julia's mother, Lolly had sent invitations to Annie before but when one came requesting her to cater a charity event for a fee, Annie's friend told her to go ahead and do it. When Julia tastes Annie's mocha flavored cupcake, it made her a little less sad and temporarily released her pain for all the secrets that she kept from every one. That cupcake made Julia to decide to open a cupcakery. Julia and Anna's joint business tested to the limits any remains of any friendship that they had when they were young. Being together, eventually brought their closely held secrets, and provided for a slow healing between them. 'How to Eat a Cupcake' has mystery, humor, wit, surprises, sorrow, regret, anger and just about every emotion that you can imagine. At the first, I felt that Anna was just a little too bubbly but she grew on me and so did Julia. I was sad that the book ended. I recommend this book to all who love to read about women's relationships and who enjoy an occasional delicious cupcake. I received this book free from the Amazon Vine Program but that did not influence my review.

[nicole_30 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

How to Eat a Cupcake finds Annie going into business with her former friend, Julia. Julia was actually more than a friend as they grew up in the same house as sisters since Annie’s mom was Julia’s nanny. High school changed all that and the two didn’t speak for a decade. But Annie never held anything against Julia’s parents, so she agreed to provide the cupcakes for a party at the St. Clair home. The story of their estrangement and subsequent reconnection comes in alternating perspectives, which helped create a bond to both women. Instead of rooting only for Annie, I wanted Julia to find happiness as well.

[elbakerone · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Annie and Julia were born into opposite stations - Annie to an Ecuadorian immigrant and Julia to a rich prep-school family - but as nanny to Julia, Annie's mother raised them both and as children they were practically sisters. High school antics drove them apart and after Annie's mother died, the two girls went their separate ways: Annie to pursue independent culinary dreams and Julia to business school.As grown woman, the two cross paths again and though Annie is reluctant to place any trust in her old friend, Julia's wealth and business savvy hold the keys to making Annie's dream of owning her own cupcake shop a reality. Entering into a an uneasy partnership, the two find that their past of hurt, betrayals, and buried secrets soon surfaces. Annie and Julia must decide if they can overcome their differences amidst a new barrage of business challenges and threats to their shop and possibly even find their childhood friendship rekindled along the way.Meg Donohue cooks up a winning recipe of friendship, and family, blended with puzzling mysteries in this heartwarming novel. The title How to Eat a Cupcake refers to the different styles each character has of consuming pastries perfectly and though Annie and Julia are as different as chocolate mocha and vanilla bean, each is a delightful heroine in the novel. Reminiscent of the works of Sarah Addison Allen, this was a book that brings descriptions to life in tastes and smells along with sights and sounds and if there's anything bad I have to say about this novel it's that it will certainly leave readers hungry for a cupcake after reading!

[dudes22_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although Julia and Annie grew up in the same house, Julia was the daughter of the house while Annie was the daughter of the nanny/cook in the debut novel [How to Eat a Cupcake] by Meg Donohue. Even though they were close as little girls, a rift develops between them when they reach high school age and Annie attends the same private school as Julia where she feels she doesn’t belong. Then Annie’s mother dies, Annie leaves for college and never goes back.A decade later, she is working for a small bakery and is hired to provide cupcakes for a party that Julia’s mother is hosting. Julia and Annie run into one another and decide to open a cupcakery together even though there is still tension between them. Some of the old resentments still linger for Annie and Julia has her own secrets she’s hiding. Plus, someone is trying to sabotage the bakery. And there’s some romance, of course.The story is told in alternating chapters between Julia and Annie. This is one area where I thought the author could have done a better job. Although the chapters told the different stories, the voice of each chapter read almost the same. It read/sounded like the same person telling the story rather than two different individuals. And I would have liked some cupcake recipes to go along with the delicious sounding cupcakes that Annie created.

[julyso · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

How to Eat a Cupcake is about two childhood friends who reconnect after a long estrangement. Annie Quintana is a pastry chef who bakes amazing cupcakes and is haunted by the loss of her mother. Julia is a businesswoman engaged to be married, but who is keeping a secret from all who love her. Julia and Annie decide to open a cupcakery together. They have lots to overcome...long ago betrayals, hidden secrets, and a threat from someone unknown...I loved reading How to Eat a Cupcake....I was in with just the title!!! Annie and Julia are both terrific characters, both likeable, yet frustrating at times. Their friendship feels real and I loved their story.

[debnance_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

 Annie and Julia grew up together in the same house, almost like sisters. Almost, but not quite. Julia’s parents owned the house the two lived in and employed Annie’s mother as the housekeeper. Annie and Julia were friends until gossip, initiated and then shared by Julia and her friends, almost ruined Annie’s life.Time passes and Annie and Julia meet again and Julia decides to help Annie open a cupcake shop. Hard feelings still exist and Annie and Julia must work at their new relationship if the renewed friendship and the cupcake shop are to succeed.There are lots of things to like about this book. It’s wonderful to read a story that takes place in a cupcake shop. It’s wonderful to read about all the amazing ideas Annie has for cupcake (Key lime cupcakes…Moroccan vanilla bean and pumpkin spice cupcakes…lemonade cupcakes with hot pink Swiss meringue buttercream icing…Do you see what I mean?) It’s always wonderful to read a story about people working on a difficult relationship. And the story is full of mysteries, and that’s always fun. Thank you to the publisher who sent this book for review.

[voracious_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Annie and Julia grew up together in an affluent Pacific Heights home overlooking San Francisco Bay. Annie's mother, Lucia, was an Equadorian immigrant and single mother, who was hired to be a live-innanny for Julia and to cook for the family. Though they grew up as sisters, there were still some differences as Annie was the daughter of the hired help. After Lucia died unexpectedly around the time that Annie and Julia left for college, a deep rift developed between the girls, accelerated by unresolved conflicts from high school. Years later, the girls meet again when Julia's mother hires Annie to cater a party she is giving in her palacial home. Julia has past secrets of her own and convinces Annie to open a cupcakery with her as a business project, giving Annie a shot at her dream of owning her own bakery and a chance to distract herself from problems. As the girls try to manage their new relationship as business partners, they stumble upon unresolved issues from the past including their history of being sisters more than friends. I really enjoyed this warm and sweet novel, which was a combination of a mystery novel, a deeper family relationship story and a feel-good chick lit embrace, effused throughout with the flavor and scents of fanciful cupcakes. To be honest, I couldn't stop thinking about cupcakes throughout the story....so be warned, reading this story may not bode well for your diet.

[ethel55_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This kind of started out as many chick lit novels do, with two young women who grew up as best friends who had a major falling out during the mean girl high school years. Fast forward ten years to the beginning of the novel, and through family connections (Lolly St. Claire, Julia's mother) Annie has arrived at their home for the first time in a long time, cupcakes in tow for Lolly's charity event. Julia has recently quit her job and moved back home before her upcoming wedding. Enamoured of Annie's baking skills, Julia proposes that she will fund a cupcake business for Annie, just to give her something to do until the wedding. The novels proceeds along a winding path, but it's a good path, where we learn along with Julia and Annie what kind of strong friendship and family they have. A background story of vandalism at their shop comes to a neat conclusion as well. The deeper I read into the book, the more I appreciated the fragility of it. This was really a surprisingly wonderful read.